Boat oar



A. E. BLlVEN June 28, 1955 BOAT OAR 2 SheetsSheet 1 Filed Sept. 26, 1951- INVENTOR.

A. E. BLIVEN June 28, 1955 BOAT OAR 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Sept. 26 1951 INVENTOR. flrz iar Z, ,ZSZil/em HTIWF V Y United States Patent BOAT OAR Arthur E. Bliven, Walled Lake, Mich.

Application September 26, 1951, Serial No. 248,436

4 Claims. (Cl. 924) This invention relates in general to boat oars and more particularly to a novel twopiece oar construction in which the blade and handle portions are releasably connected together. This invention is a continuation-in-part of my prior application Serial No. 117,626, filed September 24, 1949, for Boat Oar, now abandoned.

In my said prior application a two-piece oar construction was disclosed and claimed in which a metal blade portion and a wooden handle portion were adapted to releasably connect together by novel attachment means.

Similarly, the present invention relates to a two-piece oar construction which differs from my said prior application in the respect that another attachment means is provided as well as a new means for rendering the metal blade portion water tight.

Accordingly, the main objects of this invention are to i provide novel means of detachably connecting a metal blade portion and a handle portion to form an oar; to provide a partially hollow blade portion which is water tight and may float in the event that the handle portion should break or otherwise become disengaged; to provide in a boat o'ar of the two-piece type a connection between the handle and partially hollow blade portion which is sealed against water irrespective of the fit between the handle and blade portions; to provide novel means for constructing the said hollow blade portion; and in general to provide a boat oar of the aforementioned type which is simple in construction, attractive in appearance, durable in use, and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

Theseand other objects of this invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the assembled boat oar of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the boat oar of Fig. 1';

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the oar illustrated in Fig. 1 taken along the line 3-3 thereof;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1 taken along the line 4-4 thereof;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1 taken along the line 55 thereof;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional viewof the structure illustrated in Fig. 1 taken along the line 66 thereof;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1 taken along the line 7-7 thereof;

Fig. 8 is a partially broken away view of the blade portion showing the cooperating attachment parts in further detail; and i t Fig. 9 is an enlarged view of part 19 of Fig. 1. Referring indetail to the drawing, it will be seen that an oar construction is provided which comprises a handle portion 9 and a blade portion 10. The oar blade portion 10 is preferably formed of light metal such as sheet aluminum, magnesium, galvanized steel, etc., but it will be apparent that the blade portion may be formed of any material which is corrosion resistant, abrasion resistant, and possesses sutiicient tensile and shear strength to withstand the torque loads applied to the oar during use such ICC as plastics, etc. As may best be seen in Figs. 4, 5 and 7 oar blade portion 10 is shown as being formed from two sheet metal plates 11 and 12. The peripheral edges of the plate 11 extend around the peripheral edges of the plate 12 at 13 and are riveted, hammered, punched, or otherwise suitably secured in place so as to provide the complete blade portion 10. As may best be seen in Fig. 6 I have illustrated a preferred method of attaching sheet metal plates 11 and 12 together. As shown the method of attachment comprises punching or crimping the sheet metal plates 11 and 12 in alternation from opposite sides to effectively deform the plates without rupturing the same to provide a rigid, safe, economical, and completely satisfactory attachment. It will be apparent that this preferred procedure will be applicable only to those constructions employing a readily deformable soft metal such as aluminum, magnesium, or light weight galvanized steel.

Plates 11 and 12 are provided with substantially centrally located, longitudinally extending rib portions 14 which, when the plates are assembled, provide an internal longitudinally extending hollow blade portion 15, the blade portion being of constantly decreasing diameter as it progresses from the handle end toward the opposite end of oar blade portion 10. It will be apparent that the buoyancy of blade portion 10 may be effectively varied to accommodate varying weights of material which are employed in its manufacture so as to render blade portion 10 capable of floating on water. As may be seen in Fig. 7 the buoyancy of oar blade 10 may be further increased where desired by varying the angle at which sheet metal plates 11 and 12 approach the central rib portion 14, thereby increasing the hollow area enclosed. Additionally, rib portions 14 serve the important function of providing support and rigidity to the plates 11 and 12 enabling the use of relatively thin plates of light weight which are nevertheless capable of withstanding all normal strains thereon during use.

The inner ends of the rib 14 and plates 11 and 12 terminate in an opening 16 at the inner end of the blade 10 into which the inner end of the handle portion 9 may be inserted. Opening 16 is fitted with an internal sleeve 17 which forms a press fit with surrounding rib portions 14. Sleeve 17 is a substantially cylindrical member having a diameter which gradually decreases correspondingly with the decrease in diameter of rib portion 14. The upper portion '18 is folded over surrounding rib portion 14 to rigidly secure it in place. As may best be seen in Fig. 3 the inner end of sleeve 17 terminates in abutment with water seal 19. v

Referring to Figs. 1, 3, 5, 8, and 9 it may be seen that water seal 19 is comprised of two substantially fiat truncated portions 20 and 21 integrally attached at their lower extremities by cylindrical portion 22. Cylindrical portion 22 is provided with annular groove 23 for receiving the inner end portions of sleeve 17. A water-tight seal is provided between sleeve 17 and cylindrical portion 22 by water insoluble sealing material or cement 24. In similar manner, a water-tight seal is provided between the'outer edges of truncated portions 29 and 21 and the inner extremities of sheet metal plates 11 and 12 by providing calking or sealing material in the space designated 25. It will be apparent, therefore, that seal 19 elfectively seals the outer portion of the blade 10 both from the opening 16 and the possibility of leakage which may occur at the juncture 25 of plates 11 and 12 and the internal sleeve 17, and that the seal is not dependent upon the fit between the handle portion 9 and the sleeve 17. Seal 19 is rigidly secured in place by crimping sheet metal plates 11 and 12 adjacent the bottom edges 26 and 27 and the top edges 28 and 29.

Seal member 19 serves the dual purpose of providing a water seal for the inner end of blade 10 and of providing 3 a support for a securing or cross-pin which serves to releasably connect the handle portion 9 and the blade portion 10 and is provided with a securing or cross-pin 30 in abutment with the upper edges 28 and 29 of truncated portions and 21, respectively. Securing pin 30 has tapered end portions 31 and 32 which are shaped so as to tightly seat against the tapered peripheral edges of plates 11 and 12. As may be seen in Fig. 4, cross-pin 30 extends through the walls of internal sleeve 17 at slots 33, 34.- The seal between sleeve 17 and pin 30 is obtained by brazing, soldering or cementing the pin to the sleeve at the slots 33, 34.

Handle portion 9 has positioned on its inner end a peripheral sleeve 35 suitably attached thereto by means of screws, mechanical indentations 36, or the like, and having an inwardly extending portion 37. The inward extremity of extension 37 is designed to be tightly received by opening 16 of the blade 10 and is provided with two oppositely disposed substantially L-shaped slots 38 and 39. Slots 38 and 39 are diametrically disposed on the periphery of extension 37 and are the mirror images of each other thereby forming a joint of the bayonet type having an aligned aperture 40 for receiving securing pin 30. Handle portion is provided with a spring member 41 which is designed to maintain the handle portion 9 and blade portion 10 in locked relationship regardless of the rotational or axial forces applied to handle portion 9 during use. Spring 41 is positioned within sleeve 37 and the outer end 42 thereof is in direct abutment with the inner end 43 of handle portion 9. The outer end 42 of spring 41 is preferably sufficiently large so as to be anchored against the internal wall of sleeve 37, while the inner end 43 is preferably somewhat smaller so that it may be free to expand and contract.

In order to connect handle portion 9 and blade portion 10, sleeve portion 37 is inserted into or'telescoped into opening 16 of blade 10. As may be seen in Figs. 3 and 4, sleeve 37 upon insertion, is rotated until cross-pin 30 is in engagement with longitudinal slots 38, 39. Continued movement of portion 37 into opening 16 brings pin 30 into abutment with the inner end 43 of spring 41. By continuing the telescoping motion, spring 41 is depressed and cross-pin 30 moves axially in the longitudinal portion of slots 38, 39 until surface of the transverse portion of L-shaped slots 38, 39 has progressed inwardly beyond the outer surface 44 of cross-pin 30. With cross-pin 30 disposed at the inward extremity of the longitudinal portion of slots 38, 39, handle portion 9 is rotated approximately 45 toposition cross-pin 30 in the transverse portion of slots 38, 39, and as the pressure on spring 41 is released, cross-pin 30 is positioned in aperture 40 which is defined by the transverse portion of slots38, 39and the locking tit portion 46. It will be apparent that spring 41 urging upwardly against handle 9 will insure against undesired disengagement of blade 10 and handle 9, and that tit portion 46 prevents relative rotational movement between them. Handle portion 9 may be similarly disengaged by merely depressing spring member 41, ro- V tating handle 9 45 in the opposite direction, and withdrawing handle 9 from sleeve 17. i

It will be apparent that the relative ease with which the handle portion and the blade portion may be assembled or disassembled is an advantageous feature of the construction of my improved oar.

I claim:

1. A boat oar having in combination a handle portion and a substantially hollow blade portion, said handle portion having a peripheral sleeve member suitably secured thereto and extending outwardly from the inner end of said handle portion, a spring member positioned in said outward extension, and two oppositely disposed substantially L-shaped slots formed in the periphery of the said extension, said blade portion having an inner end, an outer end and a centrally disposed rib portion extending longitudinally from said inner end to said outer end for reinforcing said blade portion and for receiving said handle portion, said rib portion being round at said inner end and of decreasing diameter in the direction of said outer end, a sleeve positioned in said inner end of said rib, said sleeve having an inner end portion and an outer end portion, the inner end portion of said sleeve being open and adapted to receive said peripheral sleeve member carried by said handle, a connector pin extending through the Walls of said sleeve intermediate the ends of said sleeve, means sealing said pin in said sleeve and means sealing the said outer end portion of said sleeve, said spring member urging said connector pin against said L-shaped slots to maintain the same in assembled relationship.

2. A detachable blade for a boat oar adapted to have a boat oar handle releasably connected therewith, said blade portion being hollow and having an inner end portion, an outer end portion and a rib extending from said inner end portion to said outer end portion for reinforcing said blade portion and for receiving said handle portion, first connecting means positioned Within said inner end portion in watertight sealed relationship therewith, and second connecting means carried by said handle portion cooperating with said first connecting means for releasably connecting said handle portion and said blade portion.

3. A detachable blade for a boat oar adapted to have a boat oar handle releasably connected therewith, said blade being substantially hollow and comprising two thin sheets of suitable material secured together to produce a water-tight connection, said blade having an inner end, an outer end and a centrally disposed rib portion extending longitudinally from said inner end to said outer end for reinforcing said blade and for receiving a boat oar handle, said rib portion being round at said inner end and of decreasing diameter in the direction of said outer end, a sleeve positioned in said inner end of said rib, said sleeve having an inner end portion and an outer end portion, the'inner end portion of said sleeve being open and adapted to receive a boat oar handle, a connector pin extending through the walls of said sleeve intermediate the ends of said sleeve, means sealing said pin in said sleeve and means sealing the said outer end portion of said sleeve to thereby form a watertight chamber.

4. A two-piece boat oar including a handle portion and a blade portion, said blade portion being hollow and having an inner end portion, an outer end portion and a rib extending from said inner end portion to said outer end portion for reinforcing said blade portion and for receiving said handle portion, first connecting means positioned withinv said inner end portion in Watertight sealed relationship therewith, and second connecting means carried by said handle portion cooperating with said first connecting means for releasably connecting said handle portion and, said blade portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 279,267 Nock June 12, 1883 1,489,003 Poulsen et al. Apr. 1, 1924 1,557,311 Leitner Oct. 13, 1925 1,740,560 Andrews Dec. 24, 1929 1,760,046 Dixon May 27, 1930 2,068,564 Murphy et al. Jan. 19, 1937 2,353,662 Goldman July 18, 1944 2,527,040 Swenson et al. Oct. 24, 1950 2,527,256 Jackson Oct. 24, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 936,974 France Aug. 4, 1948 

